UN Nutrition recognizes the value of eggs

The latest United Nations nutrition reports gives eggs the recognition they deserved in tackling hunger but also in poverty alleviation and sustainability.

Eggs play an important role in nutrition in numerous countries, however, their value is not always recognized. (Dr. Vincent Guyonnet)
Eggs play an important role in nutrition in numerous countries, however, their value is not always recognized. (Dr. Vincent Guyonnet)

Eggs do not always receive the recognition that they deserve, and so it was a real pleasure to see that they were featured prominently in a report published earlier this month by UN Nutrition.

For anyone not familiar with this body, UN Nutrition is a United Nations inter-agency established to fight the burden of malnutrition around the world.

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting the food security of an additional 272 million people at risk, UN Nutrition’s report, entitled “Livestock-derived foods and sustainable healthy diets,” is a great reminder of the many contributions of meat, dairy and eggs to human nutrition.

While eggs may have been referenced less often than milk or meat, their contribution was highlighted in several instances. This, unfortunately, is not always the case.

Every year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, together with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), publishes the joint OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook, reviewing the state of agriculture commodity markets at global, regional and national levels.

This massive document outlines the key global trends in food production and consumption, reviewing, in detail, cereals, sugar, meat, dairy and dairy products, along with fish. At over 300 pages long, the report also offers a great outlook for the next 10 years.

In the 2020 edition, while the word meat was mentioned 337 times, milk 204 times and fish 365 times, the words egg or eggs appeared only 8 times, often in a generic sentences and once in the context of locusts!

Informed

The UN Nutrition report was probably helped by having a scientist as its lead author, with firsthand experience of the nutritional value of giving one egg a day to undernourished infants. Eggs are the ideal food choice during life stages with higher nutrient demands, such as childhood and pregnancy and lactation. The high bio-availablity of proteins in eggs also makes them great food as we age and must fight muscle-mass losses.

The report’s sustainability focus on healthy diets further reinforces the value of eggs. With the lowest global greenhouse gas emissions of all livestock production, the egg sector provides an affordable and nutrient dense food with the lowest impact on the planet. Additionally, eggs have a significant effect on poverty alleviation, offering a regular source of income for smallholder farmers, especially women.

Ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, due to be held in September, let us hope that this latest report will serve as a reminder of the need for livestock sourced foods in balanced diet, and that eggs, along with other foods of animal origin, play a vital role in our global food system.

 

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